


Royal Cake of Doom

by Sum1



Category: Red Velvet (K-pop Band)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-15
Updated: 2020-11-14
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:41:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27569221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sum1/pseuds/Sum1
Summary: Joohyun bakes a cake for Seungwan and inadvertently tries to kill her.
Relationships: Bae Joohyun | Irene/Son Seungwan | Wendy
Kudos: 63





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Cross-posting this from AFF :) 
> 
> Please excuse any grammatical errors :)

_"Blue, we may have a problem."_

The transmitter in her ear crackles to life and Seungwan is immediately on her feet, footsteps rapidly heading back towards the main building.

"What's the situation?"

A familiar rush of adrenaline pumps through her veins and Seungwan's mind whirls a million miles a minute, trying to think of what could possibly have gone wrong in the fifteen minutes she had been on lunch.

She breaks out into a run, realising that she's quite some distance away and inwardly curses her luck. The one time she decides to have lunch in the furthest place away possible, only for her presence to be called upon.

The lack of reply from her teammates doesn't help and a foreboding dread of panic stirs within as the deafening silence stretches.

She pumps her legs to move faster. "What's the situation?" She repeats urgently.

_"Head on over to the kitchen, Blue."_

Seungwan doesn't slow down when she enters the inner palace. Time was a luxury in their line of work; a luxury that meant the difference between life or death, literally and figuratively.

"Can someone please tell me what is going on?" She hisses whilst sprinting down the hallways, ignoring the odd looks from others inside the building.

 _"Ignore her, Blue."_ A different voice filters through this time. _"Watermelon is safe, but we might need your assistance in the kitchen."_

Seungwan slows down. "Do you have sight of her?" She huffs, catching her breath.

_"Affirmative."_

A look of confusion flits across her face. "Then what the hell is going on?"

_"Just...come to the kitchen."_

It takes her less than a minute to enter the double doors leading to the gargantuan kitchen that was the heart of the palace. Equipped with the finest high-end appliances and housing an abundance of exquisite ingredients, the royal kitchen boasted of capabilities that enabled it to cater hundreds of guests whilst ensuring five-star service. Needless to say, it was just as impressive as any other part of the royal palace.

Seungwan cautiously makes her way towards the lone figure hunched over the stainless steel counter top.

"Your Highness?"

Joohyun drops the spatula in her hand, or rather _throws_ it, in shock. She jumps mouth opened --which Seungwan was certain ready to scream bloody murder-- only to pause when she realised who it was. The hand that had instinctively flown to her chest in surprise, clutches into a fist and promptly comes flying towards Seungwan’s arm in dulled thumps.

“Did you have to scare me like that?” Joohyun hisses.

Seungwan laughs. "My apologies, Your Highness. I didn't mean to scare you." She takes a good look at woman before her, eyeing the smudges of flour on her cheeks and the stains of batter splattered across her apron. "I see that you've been quite... busy." She scans the room. It looked like a warzone and quite frankly, that was putting it lightly.

"Did you happen to wrestle with a bag of flour or something?"

"Very funny." Joohyun narrows her eyes.

The bench top was dusted in flour, which spilled over onto the floor and bowls of questionable looking mixtures were haphazardly scattered on the counter. Meanwhile, an ominous looking liquid bubbled away on the stove in the background whilst a strange scent wafted in the air.

Seungwan discreetly takes a sniff. _Something smells... burnt._

Before she gets a chance to question what it could possibly be, the oven timer chimes with a 'ting' and Joohyun’s face lights up in excitement. "The cake's ready!" She rushes to the oven with her mitts and carefully removes the pan, setting it onto the counter.

"Uh, what is that, Your Highness?" Seungwan peers at the deformed, dark, _thing_ that was steaming away.

"Cake." Joohyun furrows her brows and looks at her like it's the most obvious answer.

"Oh, of course." Seungwan clears her throat. "What's the occasion?"

A string of incoherent words tumbles out and Seungwan has to lean forward because Joohyun speaks so softly that she isn't able to catch her words.

"Sorry, can you repeat that?"

"I said, it's to celebrate your one year anniversary of joining the team."

"This is for me?"

Seungwan's not sure if it's the heat from the kitchen because Joohyun's cheeks look a tad pink, despite her cool outer exterior.

"Yes." The older woman mumbles softly refusing to meet her eyes, instead finding great interest in the stain on the counter top.

Seungwan smiles warmly and her eyes twinkle in amusement when the Princess darts her eyes away upon catching Seungwan's gaze.

"Thank you, Your Highness."

The blonde dips her head so that she can look Joohyun in the eyes and the shy curve of her lips makes Seungwan's heart flutter. It makes her breathing falter and her palms sweaty and suddenly, she's so conscious of how close they were.

The feeling threatens to consume her and it scares Seungwan, because her thoughts teeter dangerously along the edge of a fantasy that she could only dream of and the cold reality of who they were.

Seungwan was a guard and Joohyun was her Princess.

"Let's taste it."

Joohyun cuts a slice and plates it with care, before walking over to the stove to grab the ominous look pot. She proceeds to drizzle the viscous liquid onto the cake and Seungwan nearly regrets her decision. _Nearly._ But the child-like frown on Joohyun's face as she concentrated on the finishing touches had Seungwan thinking otherwise.

"I want you to be honest, okay?" She sternly warns as she pushes the plate towards Seungwan.

"I promise."

Joohyun watches intently as Seungwan shovels a hearty forkful into her mouth. She slowly chews the cakes and it takes every ounce of the latter's willpower not to gag at the horrendous mush that swirled in her mouth. It was bitter, salty and simply not palatable.

 _Crunch_.

_Wait, that's not right. Cake is meant to be...soft._

"Well? How is it?" Joohyun looks at her expectantly and Seungwan feels a part of her die when she finally manages to swallow down the abomination.

"It's so good! How did you make this?" She widens her eyes dramatically and beams at Joohyun, desperately praying the latter couldn't see through the facade and against better judgement, shoves another bite into her mouth for good measure.

She regrets it instantly.

"Really?" Joohyun stares at her incredulously. "Oh, thank goodness, because I accidentally burnt the paper with the recipe halfway through the process, so I kind of just threw in random things and hoped for the best as I went along."

_Right. That makes a lot more sense._

"But I'm so glad it worked out, let me try some."

"WAIT! NO!"

Joohyun steps back in shock as Seungwan looks at her alarmingly, hand gripped tightly around her wrist preventing her from reaching the cake.

"Seungwan, wha-"

"It's, uh, it's mine! You can't have any!" Seungwan blurts out.

A look of puzzlement crosses Joohyun's face. "What do you mean I can't have any?"

"I -uh..." She racks her brain and sputters the first thing that comes to mind. "You said it was my gift, so I don't want to share it with anyone else. In fact, you know what?" Seungwan rambles, grabbing the remainder of the cake, making a swift exit for the door. "I'm going to go and show this off to the others and then eat it all in front of them so that they can be jealous."

She's not entirely sure what she's saying at this point and it's evident by the bewildered frown on Joohyun's face, but Seungwan knows that she needs to get this _thing_ away from the older woman as far as possible. Possibly have it sitting in the trash somewhere.

And so, with that, Seungwan leaves behind a speechless Joohyun who wonders what has gotten into the her.

***

Her stomach makes a terrifying noise that she doesn't know it was capable of.

Seungwan groans.

"Are you going to be okay?" Seulgi eyes her with concern.

"I hope so."

They're currently in their breakroom with Seungwan lying on the couch, attempting to recover from the rather disastrous cake.

Her stomach spasms and Seungwan grimaces in discomfort. She doesn't know if she's going to make it out alive.

Yeri walks into the room and stops when she spots her ill looking teammate.

"You look terrible. What happened?" The younger woman curiously gives her a once over.

"She had cake."

Yeri looks at Seulgi questioningly.

"You know how Princess Joohyun was in the kitchen earlier and she asked us to taste test for her but then we all ran for it and proceeded to lie to Seungwan so that she would hurry in our place instead?"

Yeri nods.

"Yeah, that was the end result." Seulgi points a finger at Seungwan.

Yeri's lips curve into an 'o' shape as she recalled their rather poor attempt to excuse themselves from the situation.

"That was certainly a close call." She sniggers.

"Go away and leave me in peace." Seungwan whines.

"I'll get you some medication and something warm to drink. You're in no state to be guarding anyone so I'll cover you for the rest of the day."

"Thanks, Seulgi." Seungwan mutters and puts an arm over her eyes only to scramble onto her feet seconds later, startling the other two in the room, as she dashes to the bathroom.

The muted sound of dry heaving filters through the wall followed by the sound of the toilet flushing momentarily.

"That bad, huh? Are you sure Princess Joohyun was meant to _gift_ Seungwan unnie because it certainly looks like she's trying to kill her." Yeri comments dryly.

Seulgi sighs. "I'm just glad she never thought of baking a cake for any of us."

"That reminds me, why the hell does Seungwan unnie get special treatment? We never got anything when it was our one year anniversary." Yeri complains.

"You really want to call that special treatment?" Seulgi nods her head at blonde's direction who languidly dragged herself back into the room and flopped unceremoniously onto the couch.

"Okay, fair point."

***

"Has anyone seen Seungwan?"

Her assistant shakes her head. Joohyun realises that she hasn't seen the blonde woman all day since their last encounter in the kitchen. Between being preoccupied with endless meetings and the influx of foreign dignitaries arriving for the upcoming state dinner, it left her barely any time to eat, let alone notice the younger woman's absence.

She glances at her phone.

It's past midnight and usually Seungwan would be accompanying her right now before the first watch when Joohyun retired for the night, but she had yet to see the woman show up.

_Maybe she's busy._

Joohyun turns the corner expecting to see a familiar face but stops when she spots a palace guard instead, standing outside her room. She frowns.

_Where was Seungwan?_

The man bows when he sees her approach. ""Your Highness."

"Where's Lieutenant Son?"

"Lieutenant Son is not well and had asked me to take her shift tonight."

A line appears between her brows as Joohyun attempts to recall the state of the woman when she had last seen her. Seungwan had seemed fine, but knowing the latter, she was also very good at hiding her pain. A memory flashed in her mind to a time when the woman had been involved in a freak accident when one of the chandeliers has fallen loose. Joohyun who had been standing underneath it was shoved out of harms way, but in the process, the falling light fixture had scraped down the entire side of Seungwan's arm when it nicked her.

It was a bloody mess and she vividly remembers Seungwan's arm trembling from the bleeding gash, but the woman had been too engrossed with Joohyun's safety that she didn't notice. But she had seen the flicker of pain that flashed in Seungwan's eyes once the adrenaline had worn off, despite the reassuring smile and indifferent dismissal of her injury.

She thanks the guard and makes her way towards the familiar part of the palace that was the designated residence to the royal guards. It's quiet and everyone must have been sleeping by now aside from those who were on duty.

"Princess Joohyun?"

She halts at the familiar voice and spots Sooyoung, hair wet and a towel slung over her shoulders. "What are you doing here at this hour?"

"Uh..." Joohyun doesn't know why but she suddenly feels like a deer in headlights. Almost like a teenager caught sneaking off into the night away from their parents and it's hilariously stupid because there was nothing wrong with checking up on a sick friend, right?

"Did you need some help with something?"

"I was actually looking for Seungwan. I heard she wasn't feeling well."

"Oh that's right, she caught food poisoning from eating cake of all things. Like, how does that even happen?" Sooyoung rolls her eyes in amusement.

Joohyun on the other hand is not amused because she's not entirely sure if she had heard the taller woman correctly.

"Cake?" She tentatively asks.

Her fear is confirmed when Sooyoung nods and it must have shown because she shoots her a warm smile.

"Don't worry, she'll be fine. She won't die from something like this."

But the assurance doesn't help the gnawing guilt that bubbles away inside of Joohyun when everything clicks into place and her brain registers the reason for Seungwan's weird behaviour earlier in the kitchen.

"I'm... I'm just going to check up on her." Joohyun laughs nervously and continues making her way to the blonde woman's room with rapid steps after bidding Sooyoung a good night.

She stops in front of the door and hesitates for moment. It would be selfish to disturb the resting woman, but a part of her, the guilt-ridden part, wanted to see for herself that Seungwan was fine.

She gently knocks on the door and waits.

There's no response. _Maybe she should leave_.

Joohyun's about to walk away but stops at the sound of shifting locks. The door creaks open revealing Seungwan tiredly rubbing her eyes. She lets out a relieved sigh.

"Your Highness?" Seungwan rasps, hair a dishevelled mess. "What are you doing here at this hour?" She opens the door wider and gestures for her to come in.

"I heard you weren't feeling well. Sooyoung said you had caught food poisoning from eating cake." Joohyun looks at her guiltily. "It was my cake wasn't it?" She timidly asks.

The blonde woman pauses and grins wryly.

"I wasn't sure if you were trying to secretly kill me or not." Seungwan jokes but it only appears to make the older woman guiltier because her eyes droop apologetically, looking very much like a kicked puppy that she finds it adorable.

"I'm so sorry."

"I'm joking, Your Highness." Seungwan replies softly and resists the urge to pull Joohyun into her arms and tell her everything's alright.

"I'll make it up to you."

"Please tell me it's not going to be another cake, is it?"

Joohyun gives her a deadpan look.

"I'll take that as a no."

"How are you feeling?"

Seungwan moves to sit on the edge of her bed. "Much better. The medications Seulgi gave me earlier really helped."

"That's good."

There's a beat of silence.

Joohyun closes the distance between them and Seungwan is not prepared when she suddenly feels a soft hand against her forehead.

"You're not burning up."

She glances up and Joohyun's so close that the lines of fatigue and dark circles under her eyes are prominent even in the dim lighting.

"Your Highn-"

She doesn't get to finish, however, because Joohyun gently cups her cheeks and places a tender kiss on her forehead. Her touch lingers, as if willing for the pain to disappear and despite catching Seungwan off guard, the gesture makes her heart swell.

Joohyun pulls back -but doesn't remove her hands- and under the sliver of moonlight that seeped through the cracked curtains, Seungwan could not help but become entirely entranced by the soft smile on Joohyun's face, eyes glazed over with an emotion she could not discern. Or, perhaps, one she dared not to.

Seungwan wonders if Joohyun can feel the thrumming beat of her heart through her skin.

Joohyun wonders if Seungwan can see the longing hidden in her eyes.

"Sleep well."

And so Joohyun quietly slips out of her room, as though she had not just whisked away yet another piece of Seungwan's fragile heart. Seungwan wonders what would happen when Joohyun finally takes it all and all that's left is an empty cavity inside of her.

She only hopes that perhaps by then, in exchange, the hollow space in her chest would have been filled by the heart of a certain someone.


	2. fin

"What's this?"

Seungwan looks at the black, Venetian styled mask that Seulgi hands her as she holds onto a similar one in her own hands.

"Your mask."

"For what?" It's simply designed and appears to only cover the top half of the face, but not so much that the person wearing it wasn't recognisable up close.

"Apparently, there's going to be a masquerade ball before the state dinner. The Captain's advised that we'll be in the crowd as undercover so they don't want our presence to be obvious."

Over the last few days, esteemed guests from around the world slowly trickled through the palace gates for the upcoming state dinner, leaving the palace staff in a constant whirlwind frantically running about with the myriad of tasks that needed to be completed. The palace had been completely upturned and not a nook or cranny was spared as it underwent a deep clean that it practically sparkled.

Old rugs were tossed out and new ones were rolled in, decorations hung brilliantly in the banquet hall as well as the ballroom, and hundreds of uniform and clothing hung neatly on racks after hours of washing and ironing. Anything less than pristine was simply unacceptable.

Seungwan, on the other hand, had far more pressing concerns.

"Does that mean we'll have to dance?"

"Potentially."

She grimaces. Seungwan was far more suited for other 'activities', in particular those along the lines of chasing after suspects or preventing potential assaults or responding to assassination attempts.

Dancing? Not so much.

"Which brings me to my next point. I'm going to need your help with something."

She eyes the mono-lid woman suspiciously. "What is it?"

"Well, Princess Joohyun doesn't actually know how to dance either, so the Queen's assigned me to teach her the Waltz and she needs a dance partner..." Seulgi trails off with a sheepish look on her face, "and I kind of told her you agreed."

Seungwan's complexion darkens and Seulgi finds herself unconsciously taking a step back.

"Kang Seulgi, you _know_ I can't dance." She says in a low tone.

"Exactly, so why not kill two birds with one stone right?" Seulgi grins at her enthusiastically. _Far too_ enthusiastic for someone Seungwan's itching to slap across the head.

"Look, I promise you it won't be that bad. It'll just be me, you and Princess Joohyun, and plus, you're going to have to learn how to dance anyway if we're going covert."

"Easy for you to say. You're not the one who's going to be making a fool of herself." Seungwan retorts. “When do we start?" She sulks, not seeing how this was possibly going to end well for her.

"Well, I thought you'd never ask." Seulgi beams at her with that stupid grin on her face.

"Don't push your luck."

Seulgi ignores her glare and slings an arm around her shoulder as they walk out of the locker room. "I was thinking of starting this evening after your shift was over. It'll give us enough time for me to teach you the steps and for you guys to practice it before the ball."

"I really hate you. You could've literally asked _anyone_ else to be her dance partner."

Seulgi gives her a knowing look. "We both know that Princess Joohyun would not be comfortable with anyone else. Besides, Sooyoung and Yeri already partnered up so that only left you."

She raised her eyebrow. "Sooyoung and Yeri? Dancing together?"

"Don't remind me. I was this close, _this close_ , to killing them myself." Seulgi scowls. "Just meet me at the ballroom once you're done for the day, okay?"

"Sure."

It couldn't be that bad right?

***

She was wrong.

"One and two, and one and tw– stop, stop, _stop._ " The music cuts off abruptly.

Instructor Kang was being scary again.

Seungwan darts her eyes away from the piercing glare of her friend as she broke apart from Joohyun. They've been in the ballroom over the past hour and a half, getting the basic footwork down to pat and now it was time to put it all together.

Except, that was the problem.

She couldn't put it together. Not when Joohyun was flushed up against her body and staring at her with those eyes that made her heart flip flop back and forth. Joohyun had naturally picked up the dance steps rather quickly but with Seungwan's compromised focus, her struggles ensued in a rather awkward and disjointed movement.

She blames it on the eyes. Damn those soft, round, mesmerising eyes.

" _Seungwan._ You need to relax your body. The waltz is meant to be an elegant and fluid dance; you're too stiff and it makes you look unnatural."

"This is a lot harder than you think okay?"

She grumbles, getting into position once more with her right hand on Joohyun's lower back whilst clasping their left hand together. The warmth of Joohyun's body against her own sends tingles down Seungwan's spine and she tries not to think too much about it but inwardly concedes that she is miserably failing.

"I need you both to be closer as well. Remember, you want to be moving as one."

 _Closer? How much closer do you want us to be?_ Seungwan was already having a mental breakdown trying to breathe with Joohyun so close to her face. The fact that her entire being had yet to combust was a miracle.

"Alright, let's try this again."

They start moving when the music comes to life and Seungwan takes slow, deep breaths hoping it would ease her tension. She keeps her gaze directed over Joohyun's shoulders, paying close attention to her footsteps as they spin around to the beat of Seulgi's count.

For a moment, everything appears to be going smoothly, but Seungwan makes the mistake of accidentally locking gaze with Joohyun and her mind proceeds to shit itself as her legs to turn to jelly. The sudden halt in momentum throws them off balance sending them tumbling to the floor.

"Ow." Joohyun groans, embraced in Seungwan's arms.

"I'm so sorry, Your Highness."

The music cuts off again, except this time is replaced by the sound of Seulgi's laughter at the pitiful sight.

"Let's call it a night and we can continue practice tomorrow." She reaches out and helps Joohyun off of Seungwan who lays spread eagle on the floor.

"I'm not cut out for this."

"You're doing a lot better than I expected. In fact, I think you could rank in the top five dancers within the royal palace." Seulgi smirks.

"Oh, aren't you funny."

Seungwan picks up her jacket and turns to find Joohyun staring intently at her phone. It's been a couple days since the incident involving the cake and neither had spoken about that night in her room. They had fallen back to their usual rhythm and with everyone preoccupied by the preparations, there was very little chance to bring it up.

"Your Highness, is everything alright?" She holds the door open as they leave the ballroom.

Joohyun glances up.

"Oh. Yes, everything's alright." Her smile doesn't quite reach her eyes. "My mother just called me but it seems like I missed her call. I better head over."

Seungwan nods.

"We'll escort you there since it's pretty late right now." There was no place safer than the royal palace, but it was always better to be safe than sorry. Especially with the influx of foreign guests they now had.

"Actually, I might leave that to you Seungwan. I need to go back and give the Captain a briefing on my report. I'll see you both here tomorrow, same time alright?”

Seulgi waves and they part ways.

A comfortable silence lingers in the air as they cross the palace grounds and Seungwan greatly appreciates the fact that there was no need for redundant words to be spoken. They had formed a mutual understanding between one another where words weren't necessary at times, so it was no surprise that Seungwan could see, or rather _feel_ , the state of unrest Joohyun thought she had concealed so well.

"Is everything okay, Your Highness?"

The question startles Joohyun out of her reverie, eyes blank before it dawned on her that Seungwan had asked her a question.

"Oh." Joohyun pauses for a brief moment and draws a blank, suddenly unsure of what to say. "I've just been thinking about all the tasks that still need to be completed and checked before the dinner."

The blonde makes a non-committal hum but doesn't push any further, but it's clear that she doesn't entirely believe the response. The rest of the walk is silent, save for the faint sounds of their footsteps and the occasional greeting from a palace staff they bump into.

"I'll wait out here."

Joohyun knocks on the mahogany doors and startles when it swings opens immediately where she is greeted by the face of her father.

"Wonderful timing, Joohyun." He pulls her into the room and shuts the door.

"Father, what are you doing here?" She asks as he drags her to the couch.

"There were a few things I needed to discuss with your mother so I figured I dropped by– I was actually about to leave. Why, aren't you happy to see me?"

Joohyun rolls her eyes. "You know that's not what I meant. I just didn't expect to see you here, that's all." She glances at her mother who was seated behind her desk typing away on her laptop.

"Was there something you needed to discuss with me?"

The Queen leans back and removes her glasses. A tired smile paints her face. "How did your dancing lesson go?"

Joohyun shrugs. "We're getting there."

"That's good." Her mother looks at her with an unreadable, steady gaze and it has Joohyun fidgeting nervously in her seat.

"Is there something wrong?"

The Queen sighs. "Joohyun, I'll be straight to the point. You need to be more careful and consider the time and day of your actions."

A crease settles between her eyebrows as she tilts her head in confusion. "I...I don't follow?"

"I had someone report back to me that you were seen wandering around quite late in the royal guard's residence a couple nights ago." It was her father who spoke up this time. "Whilst we personally don't have any qualms with you visiting whoever you choose, your actions will always draw the attention of others and people will start to raise questions."

"I was just checking up on Lieutenant Son, that night. She fell ill because of me." Joohyun couldn't understand the fault in her actions for being concerned in another's wellbeing, particularly if she was the cause of it.

"I know sweetie, and there's nothing wrong with that but..." The King looks hesitant for a moment, as if carefully considering his next words but appears to forego it as a reluctant sigh escape his lips. "We see the way you look at Lieutenant Son."

Joohyun stiffens.

"And the reason why we haven't said anything and allowed her to stay by your side is because it hasn't been a _problem_. She does an excellent job at keeping you safe and her actions have yet to suggest otherwise. But, _if_ her presence does become a problem, then we may need to reconsider her arrangement."

"What do you mean, _if_ she becomes a problem? She hasn't done anything wrong." It was almost impossible to restrain the feeling of indignance in her voice at the accusation.

"Joohyun." Her mother starts. "We're not saying Lieutenant Son has done anything wrong, but a relationship between a Princess and her guard will not be kindly taken upon. Your father and I will turn a blind eye to this matter and will leave this in your hands; you're old enough to be aware of your actions. But the moment this becomes an issue, we _will_ be stepping in."

There was a clear warning to her message, lips pressing into a thin line and although a part of Joohyun was grateful they trusted her to make the right decisions, it was unnerving to know that all it took was one _wrong_ decision to swiftly end it all.

"I understand. Was there anything else you needed to discuss with me?" The strain in her voice is poorly concealed, her mind trying to reel in the tumultuous emotions tumbling inside.

"Don't think too much about it, Joohyun." Her father smiles warmly and pulls her into a hug. "We want you to live in a manner that you won't regret in the years to come by, but always remember your heritage and who you are."

Perhaps, she _was_ thinking into this all too much. After all, she didn't know if Seungwan felt the same.

***

_"TK and TQ have just entered the ballroom."_

"Do we have a view on Watermelon?"

_"Negative, she's been held up by a guest it se– oh wait, Melons has just entered the ballroom."_

_"Melons?"_

The sound of Yeri snickering can be heard through the receiver and Seungwan closes her eyes, well aware of where this was going.

"Green, _highly_ inappropriate right now."

_"What? What's wrong with Melons? It's quicker than saying Watermelon, plus who doesn't like Melons?"_

She pinches the bridge of her nose. "Green..."

_"Alright, alright, I'll stop. Don't have a rack attack, sheesh."_

_"Team, can we please stop with the breast jokes."_ The reprimanding voice of their Captain cuts through effectively silencing them all. _"Masks on and remember to keep your presence at a minimum."_

A chorus of acknowledgement sounds through and the four of them begin their move, politely circling around guests whilst maintaining their eyes on signs that might be of any concern.

The white tie event was truly fit for a king and weeks of blood, sweat and tears had definitely paid off. The crystal chandeliers sparkled brilliantly above them where the fine pieces of decorations, carefully placed around the room, reflected off. The side doors of the ballroom leading to the balcony was opened wide providing a sweeping view of the palace landscape and the magnificent, illuminated fountain outside.

Men and women donned in their finest suits and dresses waltzed hand in hand, circling the floor as they changed partners. At first glance, it was rather confusing identifying who was beneath the mask, but it seems there was trivial sense of enjoyment to the anonymity, allowing partners to boldly strike up conversations without the need to be wary of diplomacy.

_"God help me if I have to spin around one more time."_

_"Just be glad that dinner was scheduled after the ball and not before. I don't want to imagine the kind of surprise that would greet me in the face from all this spinning."_

The younger duo's conversation echoes through the transmitter and for once, Seungwan has to agree.

_"Update on status, team."_

_"I've got my eyes on TK and TQ right now. They're currently circling around the floor."_ Seulgi reports.

 _"You should have your eyes on me and maybe then you would stop stepping on my feet."_ Sooyoung replies.

_"Well stop moving so fast, you're not even on beat to the music."_

_"Guys..."_

_"Sorry, Captain."_

Seungwan resists the urge to face palm at the bickering and turns her attention to the floor. She spots Joohyun just as the latter was switching partners and could almost hear the laughter from the smile on her face.

_"Blue, I'm leaving Watermelon to you."_

"Copy."

It doesn't take long before Seungwan is swept away from the side lines and joins the fray, struggling to keep her eyes on Joohyun whilst staying on beat to the steps. But, alas, luck was not in her favour tonight and a misstep from Seungwan sends them bumping into the couple behind them.

"I'm so sorry." She fumbles out an apology but halts when she realises who they've bumped into. Despite having half of her face covered, Seungwan would've recognised the slope of her nose and the curve of her jawline, but it's the familiar pair of soft eyes that peek through the mask that really gives it away.

"Oh! Your Hig-"

"Irene. My name is Irene." Joohyun interrupts.

She catches the pressing look in the older woman's eyes. Seungwan clears her throat. "Ah...nice to meet you, Irene. I'm so sorry for bumping into you, are you alright?"

Joohyun smiles, causally dismissing the apology with the wave of her hands. "I'm fine. Actually, I don't think we've yet to dance with one another, have we? Let's switch partners shall we."

"I-"

And before their partners or Seungwan has a chance to say anything, Joohyun pulls her by the hand back into the moving crowd. There's a sense of déjà vu as they twirl around, this time with practiced steps and relaxed movement.

"Not bad, Lieutenant Son." Joohyun compliments, a teasing glint in her eyes.

"What can I say, I had a very patient dance partner."

Joohyun laughs.

"I'm going to need your help with something though, Lieutenant."

Seungwan looks at Joohyun sceptically. "I don't know, Your Highness. I've heard this request too many times to know that more often than not, it just leads trouble."

"Oh, it's nothing drastic. I was just hoping you could help me ditch this event."

"Uh, Your Highness, The King and Queen–" Seungwan begins to reason but Joohyun cuts her off.

" –Won't know because we're all wearing masks and no one really knows who they're talking to. Besides, we can just step outside for a moment and only stay within the palace, I promise."

Seungwan sighs. "I don't have a choice, do I?"

Her answer comes in the form of a smirk that paints across Joohyun's face and right before their next cue to change partners, Joohyun breaks them away from the crowd and out onto the balcony overlooking the palace grounds.

The cool breeze is a refreshing welcome to the stuffiness inside but Joohyun doesn't stop moving and maintains her grip on Seungwan's hand, only letting go when they reach the brightly lit fountain.

The sound of running water echoes in the vicinity.

Seungwan watches as Joohyun closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, her chest rising and falling steadily, shoulders relaxed. The shadows of water spouting from the fountain reflects off of the lights and it basks her in an ethereal glow. She looked peaceful.

"A penny for your thoughts, Your Highness?"

Joohyun spins on her heels and faces Seungwan, hands clasp behind her back.

Under the starry lit sky, poised elegantly in front of the glowing fountain, she appeared every bit the royal Princess that she was. And it was in these rare moments, that Seungwan was reminded of who exactly she stood in the presence of.

It was fascinating to be privy to the many sides of the woman standing in front of her. Because behind the calculated words and graceful mannerisms was the playful banter and mischievous laughter of a young woman like any other.

A young woman who held her heart hostage.

" _Joohyun._ My name is Joohyun. You've never called me by my name, Seungwan."

"That would be inappropriate of me, Your Highness."

Joohyun frowns at the mention of her title. "I thought we were close." There's a hint of disappointment in her tone.

A gentle breeze passes, sending involuntary shivers down Joohyun's spine and Seungwan reacts by removing her blazer and drapes it across the Princess's shoulders. She takes Joohyun's hands and cups them into her own, rubbing them together in an attempt to warm them up.

"We are."

Their eyes meet.

"We are close." Seungwan repeats and she doesn't know what overcomes her, doesn't know where the courage comes from or what wills her to move, but she brings a hand up and softly cups Joohyun's cheek, her thumb delicately caressing the cold skin under her touch.

"I'll be right beside you, wherever you are."

"I didn't mean that, Seungwan." Joohyun replies melancholy and grabs the warm hand removing it from her cheek.

"Well, what _do_ you mean?"

"I-" Joohyun catches herself. What _did_ she mean? What did she _want_ it to mean? Joohyun knew very well what she meant; it was just a matter of her finding the courage.

She stares blankly at the blonde. "I...I thought we were friends. Friends, call each other by their names."

"Just friends?"

The question throws her off. Maybe it was the trick of light because Seungwan looks at her like she _knows._

"I overheard your conversation at the Queen's office the other night." The younger woman sheepishly admits. "The door must have been left ajar without anyone realising."

Seungwan chuckles at the look of horror that flashes across Joohyun's face and tightens her grip on the older woman's hands when she feels her begin to pull apart.

"Where do you think you're running off to, _Joohyun_."

Joohyun stills. The sound of her name rolling off of Seungwan's lips sounded so foreign, yet uttered with a familiarity that just felt _right._

"Why are you looking at me like that, _Joohyun_. Do I have something on my face?" Seungwan questions innocently, but the teasing glint in her eyes is poorly hidden.

"What are you doing, Seungwan?"

"What are _you_ doing, Joohyun?" She echoes. "I thought this was what you wanted. Isn't it normal to call the one you love by their name?"

It takes a heartbeat to process what's being said and Joohyun finds herself lost for words.

The younger woman interlaces their fingers. "Will Her Royal Highness, Princess Joohyun do me the honour of allowing me to hold her hand and to never let go? To selfishly love her, forever and always?"

Joohyun thought she saw a slight tremor of fear from the pair of intense orbs that was waiting for her answer. Or maybe it was the glaze over her eyes

"Forever?" Joohyun whispers.

"Forever."

"Then, that's a promise."

"Your wish is my command, Princess." And with her gaze locked onto Joohyun's, Seungwan brings their clasped hand towards her mouth and gently places a kiss on the back of Joohyun's hand.


End file.
